In Reporting for Duty, an incompetent chief joins the skilled 8th precinct of the Tijuca neighborhood in Rio and becomes the sole target of a notorious mafia. The series is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Chief Suzano shows up for his new job at the 8th precinct of the Tijuca neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. Unfortunately, no one is able to recognize Suzano as their new precinct chief. They almost apprehend him, believing that he is a criminal because he has a gun.
Suzano’s badge helps everyone calm down. Suzano believes he is going to solve internet crimes, arguments, and missing bird cases here. The fact that he will also be handling heinous crimes sends shivers down his spine.
Suzano’s fears grow when he is taken to the Hallway of Glory. The place has pictures of all the precinct chiefs who served here. All of them have died while serving, except Suzano’s predecessor, Azevedo, who is currently recovering from a gunshot.
Inspector Mantovani says this is the work of the Slot Machine Mafia. They have a terrible habit of targeting station chiefs. Suzano comes from Campo Manso, where he accidentally caught one of the members of the Slot Machine Mafia. Now he has their attention.
Since Suzano can’t work from his hometown, he is transferred here and promoted to work with the 8th precinct. Nobody knows Suzano caught that member of the Slot Machine Mafia accidentally, and he is afraid to work here after learning the fate of the chiefs at this precinct.
Even the cops of the 8th precinct don’t have faith in their new chief. They don’t think he is going to last long. Suzano knows he can’t fit in here with these skilled officers. For his own safety, Suzano avoids a big on-field mission and picks up a silly one.
This silly mission involving a stuffed teddy bear helps the 8th precinct get one step closer to stopping the Slot Machine Mafia. They discover the graphics cards for the slot machines inside these teddy bears.
With Suzano making moves, the mafia starts sending him gifts along with a message warning him. Suzano is now sure he is going to die here.
Suzano and Mantovani interrogate the teddy bear seller, and Suzano, pretending to be a bad cop, forces the teddy bear seller to give the 8th precinct another name from the Slot Machine Mafia: Soaked Rat.
Suzano feels threatened when his predecessor, Azevedo, shows up at the precinct. Unlike Suzano, Azevedo is immensely loved by the officers here.
What’s more heartbreaking is that Azevedo, despite being married, is having an affair with Mantovani. Suzano is crushing on Mantovani, and watching her kiss Azevedo breaks his heart.
Suzano bests Azevedo by catching the Soaked Rat with a ridiculous plan, but he quickly loses his momentum when Regional Chief Ivone Cruz asks him to take care of her dog, and the dog goes missing. Suzano puts together a circus to find that dog, and that infuriates Cruz, who suspends Suzano.
Suzano goes back home to Campo Manso. A threat follows him in the form of Serrote, the mafia member Suzano first caught in his hometown, who has now escaped prison.
Soaked Rat’s computer reveals that Suzano could be next targeted at his hometown’s Anchovy Festival. The message on the computer says they are going to tie up the loose ends.
Mantovani goes to Campo Manso. She and Suzano come face-to-face with Serrote, who escapes yet again. Fortunately, they end up discovering the slot machines Serrote is hiding for the mafia’s secret casino.
Serrote later visits Suzano in secret and reveals that he is not working for the mafia. They took everything from him and left him in the gutter. Therefore, he stole their slot machines. He intended to give those machines back to them if they paid him what they owed.
Serrote and Suzano decide to team up, but the latter doesn’t tell his team about it. Mantovani is desperately looking for Serrote because it’s a day before Carnival. The mafia assassinates chiefs on such big occasions.
While Mantovani is on the hunt, Suzano makes everyone stay at the precinct by holding a party there to ensure that he is protected. However, he makes the big mistake of challenging the mafia live on TV after eating a cake that has weed in it.
Suzano is targeted with a fake bomb. Suzano and Mantovani don’t understand why the mafia would do that. However, Mantovani sees Serrote’s text on Suzano’s phone. Suspecting that he is working with the mafia, Mantovani arrests Suzano.
Reporting for Duty ending explained in detail:
Who is the leader of the Slot Machine Mafia?
While Suzano is in lockup, the Slot Machine Mafia raids the 8th precinct and takes everyone captive one by one. The leader of the Slot Machine Mafia is revealed to be the little girl who was present at the Anchovy Festival—the one Suzano suspected.
She confronts Suzano and wonders why their bomb didn’t kill Suzano. It turns out that her gang members weren’t able to read the instructions for the bomb carefully because they were in another language.
The Slot Machine Mafia is not here to kill Suzano. They are in a hurry and only care about the slot machines retrieved by the 8th precinct.
Does Suzano save his team?
Mantovani overhears Suzano and the Slot Machine Mafia’s conversation. She is convinced that Suzano is not working for them, so she breaks him out. Together, they work to rescue their team.
No one believes Suzano is going to save them. Unfortunately, this becomes more obvious when Mantovani gets caught too. Suzano remembers his mother’s words about what courage really is—it means you do what you have to even when you are afraid.
Suzano does the impossible by coming up with an elaborate plan. He traps the members of the Slot Machine Mafia one by one. By then, even the members of his team free themselves.
What happens after the mafia’s arrest?
Serrote is assured that he will be safe from the mafia inside prison. Suzano is celebrated and reinstated as the chief of the 8th precinct. Azevedo will be moving to the 2nd precinct. Azevedo reveals that he is separated from his wife and can now pursue his relationship with Mantovani.
Suzano wanted to confess his feelings before Azevedo’s proposal. Mantovani takes Suzano to the side and allows him to open up. Zuleide interrupts the moment by shouting that Suzano’s bike is on fire.
It’s the mafia. They have left Suzano a message. Suzano has taken down one of them, and now they are all coming for him. This time around, Suzano’s whole team believes he will be fine. As long as Suzano is there for the 8th precinct, they are there for him.
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